Armor, copters hit resistance hot spot

Restive Samarra sealed before raid

BAGHDAD — U.S. forces, eager to show they have the upper hand, launched a massive raid Wednesday against resistance fighters in Samarra, arresting about 30 people, sealing off the town and searching door to door.

A fierce battle between U.S. troops and rebels erupted two days ago near the town, one of several hot spots in the so-called Sunni Triangle, where resistance has cast doubt on the U.S. efforts to restore stability.

The display of force came on the same day that a large gasoline truck collided with a mini-bus carrying workers to their jobs in Baghdad. The collision at a busy intersection left 10 dead and at least 22 wounded.

Though Iraqi officials initially said the truck had been packed with explosives, U.S. officials later disputed that, attributing the explosion to a traffic accident in a city where order is a mirage. The blast turned cars into fireballs, knocked doors and gates off a row of factory workshops and spewed charred body parts over a wide area.

The raid in Samarra, north of Baghdad, was conducted by about 2,500 soldiers, including members of the Army's 4th Infantry Division and some Iraqi forces. The city has been the scene of some of the fiercest battles in recent months, including one Monday in which 11 Iraqis were killed and another Nov. 30 in which the U.S. said it killed 54 Iraqi fighters--a figure disputed by local officials.

"Samarra has been a little bit of a thorn in our side," said Col. Nate Sassaman. "It hasn't come along as quickly as other cities in the rebuilding of Iraq."

In the northern city of Mosul, attackers attempted a drive-by shooting, U.S. officials said. Three of the attackers were killed and a fourth wounded.

In a sign of the difficulties of economic recovery in Iraq, Adel Kazzaz, head of the North Oil Co., said the Iraqi pipeline to Turkey was attacked last weekend and that "security measures remain insufficient" to reopen it.

Separately, the head of the U.S. effort to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, David Kay, has told administration officials he plans to leave before the Iraq Survey Group's work is completed and could depart before February, The Washington Post reported.

Kay requested the change for personal and family reasons, U.S. military and intelligence officials said.

When he accepted the job in June, they said, he expected to quickly find the expansive evidence that the administration had claimed as its primary reason for going to war. Rather, Kay's preliminary report in October said the group had so far discovered only that Iraq was working to acquire chemical and biological weapons, had missile programs under development and possessed only a rudimentary nuclear program.